Wednesday, May 2, 2007

   Summer Appears
I said all I wanted to, though I'm going to revise one thing from my previous post: Kekkaishi is nowhere near done. Ignore what I said. We'll see.

On to other things, I'm now going to ramble about the summer anime coming out right now. Torrents are awesome. Sadly, downloading once I get home is not an option, so I won't be able to see the ends of these until I get back to school and find someone with them.

Darker than Black
Premise: something fell from space (I think), and ever since then weeiiirrd crap's been going down. They built a wall around Japan so no one can see what's going on. I mean a WALL. Bigger than skyscrapers. They have a fake sky, too. In this world, there are a couple new kinds of people, too - dolls and contractors. Dolls are basically just that - fake people who have their own kinds of power, sometimes, and sometimes don't have any power. Contractors do have power - and after using it they have to do some kind of ritual, or else they lose control of that power or pass out. I believe what they have to do is completely random - one guy eats flowers, another puts stones in a grid pattern, another eats, and another has to break his fingers. And another sings. Totally random. Not a lot has been revealed, yet, and the plot so far is basically about individual people, though we do have a main character and whatnot, who's pretty cool.
Music: Opening is awesome. I haven't been paying attention in the middle of the episodes, so sorry, but can't say much about that.
Animation: Awesome. Bones is doing it. That equals good automatically.
Story: Like I said, we don't have a lot yet.
Rating: so far, 8

Seirei no Moribito
Premise: The youngest son of the Emperor has been possessed by a water demon(ish). As such, the Emperor, in his hate for taint, has been trying to kill his son - mainly by causing accidents and whatnot. The son has managed to evade them, but his mother wishes him to be safe. To this end, she hires a woman bodyguard to protect him and take him far away.
Animation: Done by the same company that did Blood+ and Stand Alone Complex = Production IG. They do movies, mainly. So when I say Production IG, expect bloody good animation.
Music: Nothing too special, but enjoyable.
Story: Pretty nice so far. They go pretty far making characters believable. Don't look here for humor though - it's more or less a real-life kind of feel to it, so any humor that's there is subtle.
Overall: 9

Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpuchou
Premise: The release of a demon has released a great deal of power into the world's Dragon Veins (think power lines...I guess...). This awakens power within a group of high-schoolers. Some people go nuts with this power, some don't - all the while the demon and his friend are trying to find the person who has the Buddhavitsatva Eye, so they can use that person to wreak havoc and do what they want to do (it has the ability to rework reality). Of course, this person must be one of our main characters...
Animation: Pretty good. The company is AIC Spirits and BeStack, neither of which I've heard of before, but whatever. It's still pretty good.
Music: Opening is awesome. I don't think I've ever sit through the ending. In-episode music is good, but nothing special.
Overall: 8.5 or 9 (depends on how the ending turns out)

Nodame Cantabile
Premise: Music students. Our main character wishes to be a conductor, though at the moment he is merely a piano student. He meets an oddball of a pianist (Nodame) who decides to stick to him.
Animation: Done by the people who did Honey and Clover - JC Staff. Decent, never crappy, but nothing amazing, either. They throw in some random 3d, too, which sometimes looks amazing and sometimes looks odd. =__=
Music: As a show about music, one would hope it's music wouldn't suck, and it doesn't! Amazing. But yeah, the opening and ending songs are great, and the in-episode music is pretty good too.
Story: Amusing. Nothing strenuous, nothing complicated, but amusing and fun to watch.
Overall: 8

Lucky Star
Premise: Four high-schoolers in their daily life. Think.....Azumanga Daioh.
Animation: Good to great. (hah, I'm rating like chocobos from 7 now...) No, it's done by Kyoto Animation - Air and Kanon. The style has change from them, though - it's a lot simpler, not as beautiful as Kanon...
Music: The opening....oh, the opening.... (otherwise, average)
Story: Non-existent..? Kinda. In the way Azumanga Daioh has no story. It's really funny, though.
Ovearall: 8.5

Claymore
Premise: Men and women get possessed and turn into Yoma (demons). However, while men turn immediately into demons, some women can hold it off. They remain half-human, half-demon, called Claymores, and hunt the Yoma. They do eventually turn into Yoma, but for a while they aren't. Our main character is one of these Claymores (haha, no duh, eh?)
Animation: niiice. Done my Madhouse.
Music: meh.
Story: Is gonna be gooood.
Overall: 8

Hayate no Gotoku (Hayate the Combat Butler)
Premise: A poor high schooler who's parents don't work gets stuck with his parent's Y156,804,000 debt after they borrow money from some 'very nice people' (aka Yakuza). He temporarily decides to be a kidnapper and use the ransom for this, but then goes 180 and saves the chick he was going to kidnap from other kidnappers. And becomes her butler, because she promised him some kind of favor in return for saving her.
Animation: Average to good.
Music: meh.
Story: Meant to be funny. To me, it wavers between amusing and not...
Overall: 7

Romeo and Juliet
Premise: Totally not the original. The Capulets were killed off by the Montagues (Juliet's family by Romeo's) because they were both in line for the throne. Juliet survived, as did vassals of the Capulets, but her family died. She grew up with some of those vassals not knowing who she is, though she pretends to be a guy in public named Odin (haha - it's pronounced Japanese-way, though, so it's Odeen...?) and knows how to fight with a sword. She's also a kind of vigilante. The king (Romeo's dad) is kinda a tyrant. Then one day, on one of these escapades, she gets saved by Romeo and his friend. Then later, she goes to a ball, and meets Romeo in a garden....and love strikes! Of course. However, her vassals have a plan for her - to take back the throne and get rid of the Montagues..!
Animation: Pretty sweet. Done by Gonzo, and is their own original story. Hopefully their end will not be crappy.
Music: Nice.
Story: Again, totally original. Heck, there are pegasi in this series. The city floats in the sky. This is not the original in any way shape or form. However, it seems pretty interesting so far.
Overall: 8

That's all I got. Remember, these scores are all "so far" kind of scores. What I think they will be when they're done. They're definitely not concrete.

Later!
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

   Far too much...
I"m watching too much. Therefore there is too much to write. But write I shall, and if I want to go to bed I'll post and come back later to finish it.

Touching on ones I mentioned before:

D Gray Man: The manga is awesome. This....is cool when it's actually following the manga. For some random reason they're changing things, though. And adding arcs. Three, I believe. I watched one, decided it was irritating, and didn't watch any of the following.
Premise: Akuma (demons) made by the Millenium Earl are created by taking a dead person's soul and bringing it back to life, as called by a person close to that dead one. Then those akuma go around killing people to gain more strength, level up, etc. typical baddie. M.E. wants to basically go apocalypse and all that jazz. Exorcists are out to stop him and the akuma, using something called "innocence" some thing found a long time ago and split into 104 pieces (I think?). Innocences are used two ways: either as an item, or they are attached to the body in some way. Allen, our main character, is the second one, born with an innocence in his arm, and was also cursed by an akuma, and therefore can see the souls of akuma. This way he knows who is an akuma, since most akuma take over the body of the one who called out to the dead person (killing that person) and then wearing their skin. Creepy.
Animation: Mediocre. No Bones or Kyoto Animation here - this random company (I think it just started...) is your average animation. I'd put it on par with Those Who Hunt Elves, I think.
Music: Meh. I thought the opening and ending were cool, but now I'm kinda sick of them. None of the in-show music is worth mentioning.
Story: Like I said, they're adding arcs they don't need. And as for covering the plot, they're taking a looooong time. They drag things out by an episode or two longer than they need to cover the events that happen. Also, since they're doing that and adding arcs, they're doing this in two seasons. Or more. This season will not end with the manga - in fact, I think it will end about where Allen (SPOILER!!!) loses his arm (SPOILER END!!!)
Overall: I know it's not done, but I'm still gonna rate it: 6

Death Note:
You've all heard of this. Good guy gets ahold of a shinigami's notebook that lets him kill people by writing down a name in it, and he goes to use it to start killing the criminals of the world, trying to make himself into a new god for the world, where people will act better basically because otherwise there will be retribution. However, the FBI and police don't like this, and so the mind games begin as they both try to figure out who they are (there's a guy named L who's doing this, but obviously L isn't his real name, so Light (our main character) can't kill him.
Animation: This was picked up by a great company. The style is true to the anime, and the animation is good. No complaints, and it's really fun to watch at times.
Music: Aaaaahh...so fitting, so great.
Story: It follows the anime. I believe they only changed one small thing, and that made it more plausible, not less, so I liked the change. Rare in anime. I also like the pace, though at times it feels a little slow.
Overall: 9

Chobits
Premise: a guy falls in love with a pasocom, a humanoid computer. That's...pretty much it. He has to teach this pasocom, though, since it's too high-tech to get any software.
Animation: done by Gonzo. As such, you can expect good animation, but a bad ending. They're known for this...
Music: Nice. I'm not big on the opening and ending, until we hit the second ending, Ningyo Hime, which is nice. Most of the music is mediocre, but there is a very nice song they play the the background story of the baker (store called "Tirol") - at the pivotal point in his story. Ah, so beautifully done...
Story: Cute. My major problem with it is and shall always remain the hentai allusions. The main character is more or less hentai (soft porn - he has magazines and such), and most of all, where the switch is for Chii. Yeah.
Overall: 7.9 (I wanna give it an 8, but I can't)

School Rumble:
Madness.
Premise: Boy likes girl, girl likes a different boy, that boy likes...curry.
What more can I say?
Animation: average. Nothing special, but no complaints.
Music: I love the opening and ending. Haha! Otherwise, meh.
Story: Old, not very surprising, but so random it's hilarious. Ending is odd, though, and I'm kinda sad it's not finished in one season.
Overall: 7.5

Kekkaishi:
Premise: Point of land rich in power attracts bad things. Two families that protect this place, which is...under a high school. So no one's allowed on school grounds after dark, when ayakashi come out to eat power and cause mayhem. Main char is younger than romantic interest, which is interesting, not something you see often. The two families are rivals, too.
Animation: inconsistent. There are episodes where the animation is great, and others where it's crappy. Later in the series it levels out (yay), but in the beginning, expect bad with the good.
Music: ok. Nothing amazing, nothing bad.
Story: Other than the annoying useless arc, pretty interesting.
Overall: (so far, it's almost done) 8

Busou Renkin
Premise: ... It changed 1/2 through, to the opposite of the first arc. But basically there are humunculi who eat humans, and alchemic warriors who fight them using busou renkin, a thing that changes into a weapon dependent on the user. Homunculi are created from humans that have something hit them and take over their brains. The first arc is trying to save Tokiko, who is hit thus, but will be ok for 2 weeks. Our main char, Kazuki, was killed by a humunculi and given new life by Tokiko when she put a busou renkin in the place of his heart - and now he wants to become an alchemic warrior as well.
Animation: average leaning towards good. At the end it gets a lot better.
Music: the opening is catchy. Not neccesarily good, but catchy.
Story: I like it, though it's a shounen. So lots of fighting, etc. But I like the main character a lot, and his reasons for fighting etc. I'm a sucker for the chivalrous.
Overall: (again, almost done) 8

Kanon
Premise: Yuuichi returns to the town he used to visit 7 years ago to finish high school, while living with his aunt and cousin. There he meets with various people from his past and strives to remember them and the events that happened 7 years ago that drove him away. And to help them in the present, as well.
Animation: done by Kyoto Animation, so it's awesome. However, I warn you now, it's a lot like Air, so be ready. It's it's own story, though, so don't worry about it being Air all over again - it's entirely different. By the end, Air isn't even in your mind.
Music: same as air, done by Key. So beautiful, sometimes kinda boring, but very Air. You'll get over it. I love the opening.
Story: amazing. One of the few anime that has actually gotten me to cry. Yeah, I said it. I cried. Got a problem with that?
Overall: 10


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Thursday, October 12, 2006

   Hehe...
Ok, so I've been gone a while. I apologize. I went to college, got addicted to the evil of facebook, and forgot about my wonderful site of otakus...

So, allow me to atone by continuing my reviews. >_> Because that's all I do here.

Also, I'm going to be reviewing some fall ones, too, because I actually am keeping up-to-date with them! These won't be reviews of the series, obviously, just what episodes are out when I make this post.

FULL METAL PANIC (I, II and III)
Premise: People called "Whispered" have innate knowledge from before birth called "Black Technology" - mainly, technology that isn't neccessarily possible, but works. This drives the engine of the mech units they fight with - Arm Slaves (AS's). Mainly, our two main characters are a Whispered and the pilot of one of these AS's, fighting against those that want to get her knowledge. In their way is Mithril, the internationally independent military force that employs our main character, Sousuke.
My Opinion: Awesome. The animation quality is a little above average in the first season, then goes way up for the second. Fumoffu, the "third" (it takes place during the second), is basically all the filler episodes they could have put into the second season but didn't (yay!) The whole series is immensely amusing, however, as Mr. Martial (the pilot, Sousuke Sagara) tries to adapt to everyday life so he can be Kaname Chidori's bodyguard. It's very well-done, with pretty constant character development and nice plotline. The leaves a bit to be desired, perhaps, though I like the ending song for the first season enough that I got it, and I like the opening of The Second Raid.
My Rating: 9.5

RECORD OF THE LODOSS WAR
Premise: After a battle between two gods, the world was left in an uproar, and the country of Lodoss was divided into many city-states. Both gods were knocked out of the ring after their battle, so other than working through their clerics, they can do nothing. The war left most people without magic, since that war also was between mages and normal people (who were kind of like their slaves at the time), and so the mages mostly passed out of existence. However, one in particular survived by possessing different bodies throughout time. There are two swords, one dark and one light, imbued with special powers by the two opposing gods. These swords have the ability to slay dragons and conquer armies, and this sorceress (Karla is her name, I believe) intends to gain possession of one of them, and then use another item found in a dragon's lair to resurrect her dark goddess. In her way stands Parn, a young son of a soldier who has never had any official training, Deedlit, an elf who falls in love with him, Ghim, an old dwarf who travels with them, Etoh, a cleric of the goddess of light, Woodchuck (for a bit), a thief, Orson, a berserker, Slain, a sorcerer, and Leylia, a priestess. (Note: they all aren't together at once - they come and go throughout the story. We start with Ghim, Deedlit, and Parn, then add Slain, and things happen, some leave, new ones join) They must find the mysterious object and stop war from overtaking Lodoss once again.
My Opinion: Great! It's done in a bit of an older style (it is a little old, though not too much), but the animation quality is nice enough, and the music is rather nice. Classical in nature - think the music of LOTR, if you want a feel for it. The story is a bit predictable, in my opinion, though not bad, and definitely had the epic feel down pat.
Note: they remade this into an OAV - Record of the Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight. Don't watch this. They kid-ified it. It's weird. Opening and ending songs are nice, though. Same with the original - I liked them both. ^__^
My Rating: 8

EUREKA SEVEN
Premise: Wow. Where do I start? A kid who's father was a hero, a girl with a secret past, a mecha they both pilot. A group of people who stole said mech (and others) and a ship from the government/military and are working against their propoganda while trying to find a peaceful solution to the worlds most hidden and crucial cirses: sharing the space with another sentient being, the Coralians. That's as much as I can say without writing a novella...
My Opinion: Awesomeness on a stick! However, it's not for you if you're impatient with long series. It's 50 episodes, and there are a good number of filler, but the filler is still interesting enough that I watched them without feeling too much like I wanted things to move along more. It is slow, to put it plainly. However, if you're ok with that, then there's a great deal of plot and character development to be had. Usually a series will be heavy in one or the other, but given the length, they can capitalize on both! The music is nice, complementing the action on screen well, though I don't remember it very much. I do have the OST's, and I really like the Shounen Heart opening (first, by Uverworld) and the last opening, and some of the in-episode music is good, though some is repetitive to listen to on its own. Animation quality is awesome - but given who's animating it, it's not not unexpected (done by Bones animation).
My Rating: 8.5

ROZEN MAIDEN: TRAUMEND
Premise: Second season of Rozen Maiden, this season focuses more on Shinku's emotions, as the actual Alice Game starts, and the battle commences. A couple new characters are introduced, including Barasuishou and Kanaria, and the overall alloting of power starts taking effect. **SPOILER ALERT FOR FIRST SEASON** Lines are drawn and Shinku is faced with the horror of destroying one of her own (Suigintou), and comes to the conclusion that she will not fight. However, the battle is brought to her, and she has little choice is doing something...right?
My Opinion: Pretty good. I'm not sure I'm fond of this concentration on one character for each season - it's ok, but I'd much rather have development on more character's levels than just on one character. Like...what about Jun in this season? He's there, but he doesn't grow much in this season, and we don't learn much more about his ability to fix Rozen Maidens (like in the last season, with Shinku). However, it is interesting, and by the end a LOT of stuff happens, so I'd reccomend watching it if you liked the first. In other areas, the animation's pretty much the same as last time, the music - I really like the ending, but the opening, also done by Ali Project, same as first, is...spazzy, same as the first season's opening. (opening and ending animations are fun to watch, though)
My Rating: 8

ZERO NO TSUKAIMA
Premise: Saito, your normal Japanese student, is summoned to a magical world by Louise, a student of magic who has never successfully completed a spell, to be her familiar. As such, he must learn to be a familiar (everyone else has an animal familiar). In the world view, we have a power-hungry Duke (or something) in a nearby country that wants power, and so plots to overthrow the current royalty, and then continue taking over other countries around them, including the country that Louise and Saito are in.
My Opinion: Good lord, don't watch it. It was so horrible... I don't mean to say to watch it was to want to commit suicide, but of all the ones I watched this last season, it was the most predictable and least interesting. I was hoping, as I was watching it, that there would be more depth to it, and there never was. They never went very deep at all... The music was forgettable, the animation ok, the story, well, like I said, shallow and predictable. There you have it.
My Rating: 5

NEW ONES THIS SEASON
Where I put up some info on new one's I'm following or at least checked out.
BLACK BLOOD BROTHERS
Premise: Vampires vs. humans. They're trying (ish) to live together, though a lot of humans are anti-vampire, though we haven't seen a lot on the vampire side of things. Our main character, Jirou, is an Old Blood vampire, and loved a human. This world has rather traditional vampire settings, with vampires of certain bloodlines living together in clans and forming 'families' that are extremely close. Weird point: most vampire books have this thing where when a human's blood is taken, they experience...pleasure. Weird thing is they do actual show that in the show so far. Slightly...hm. Borderline hentai? It's not hentai, but it's kinda interesting they actual show it. And weird.
The story is about, so far, Jirou and his little brother, Kotarou, getting to Japan and the Special Zone, which is a place for vampires to live without humans and in peace, apparently. There is more story behind Jirou - he had a family ten years ago, apparently, with the woman he loved and another vampire named Cassa - but something happened, the one he loved died and Cassa abandoned him and made a new family. Now it's just him and his new younger brother, Kotarou. Animation's fine, music - opening sucks, ending rocks. *meh*

D GRAY MAN
This is the first anime I've watched from manga to anime. I really hope they don't mess this up. Akuma - machines run on the energy of a soul brought back from death - exist to destroy humanity and bring about the next destruction of the world (like in Noah's Ark's story of the bible), and akuma are created by the Millenium Earl. In there way are exorcists who utilize the power of Innocence to fight them (what is Innocence? I'm still in the dark on this one. I have NO BLOODY CLUE. They kinda pulled it out of nowhere; it has no biblical reference. They are weapons that synchronize with their user, some just plain weapons, some weapons that are inside their users body and transform their user when they fight.) In any case, the characters are cool and the story is engaging. The opening song's cool, though I always skip the ending. Animation's average (TT__TT), though so far they're staying with the manga story-wise, which makes me very happy. And the style of drawing is close to the manga, too, which also makes me happy. ^__^ I only hope they don't mess it up. More on this later!

KANON
I didn't watch the original. However, this is done by Kyo Animation, so there's going to be no doubt as to which is going to be a better quality. I'm pretty much only watching this because it's pretty. I harbor no illusions. I may not even be interested in the plot (seeing as I only have one episode, I don't know yet). On a side note, if you watched Air, you'll watch the first episode and be forcibly reminded of it. And I don't mean "oh, that kinda resembled such-and-such from Air." I mean "Holy shit, this IS AIR." Not a snowball in the face. AN AVALANCHE. WITH STONES IN IT. AND TREES. Even the music sounds the same... O_o Well, we'll see how it goes. I certainly liked Air (though, just to let you know, in retrospec, I'd rank it closer to a 9, not the 10 I originally gave it).

AVATAR
Ok, so I know it's an American anime, but I like it, dang it! And I don't feel like rating the first season. *lazy* So whatever. It's awesome. What more? Well, yeah, there are a lot of filler, but it's cute and it's nice to have matching lips, for once. Quality's not bad, and music can vary from average to good. I just wish they'd get rid of that irritating introduction, already. It's second season, man, I think we know what's going on!! Anyway, yeah, just go watch it already.

BUSOU RENKIN
I'm not sure about this one - I just started watching it. However, it looks amusing. ^__^ So we'll see what happens. It appears there are some specific with powers, and our main characters of course have them. The girl is trained with it, and knows what's going on, and the guy doesn't, really. He kinda...dies in the first episode. The girl gives him a kakugane, a kind of artificial heart, and it also gives him the powers he can use. Oh, and people get turned into monsters, basically, when certain things attack the spinal cord and take over the body. These monsters and the people who make them are what our characters are fighting against. It's a little weird though, since they steal a lot of terms from FMA, with alchemy and homonculi. But it's rather fun. ^__^
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Thursday, December 15, 2005

   Some Awesome Stuff
Ok, two really cool, one meh, one nice. First of all - yeah, I have jumped on the Bleach bandwagon. Despite their tendency to make a lot of episodes, some of which I wouldn't mind if were cut, I am still somehow hooked... Two, it's been a while, so please bear with me. ^__^;;

BLEACH
Premise: The somewhat-normal high school student Kurosaki Ichigo (Ichigo's his first name, so in English I guess it'd be Ichigo Kurosaki) can see ghosts and even talk to them. He's always had this ability, from when he was little, and now he's seeing a bit more than ghosts! After the first episode, you get to follow him in his endeavors as a Death God (Shinigami), where he must battle spirits that have transformed into Hollows, or basically big monsters. With him are Kuchiki Rukia, another Death God, and Kon, a created soul. And, of course, other stuff happens. :P
My Opinion: Heh. I will admit, it's a bit long. They could have cut out some... But overall I'm hooked. I would be more hooked if...it was shorter. It's up to 61 eps. right now, when I'm making this post, and they still haven't completed what they started to do about 30 eps or so ago. No, more than that. 40? Gah, I don't remember. However, I like their music and a good deal of what they're doing in the plot.
Music - like I said, nice.
Animation - ok. They don't do anything badly, because that would just bug me. And to tell you the truth, a lot of it is solidly done and even nice-looking, though there is a section in the middle where it goes down a bit. But it goes back up, so I'm good. The color's rather nice, too.
My Rating: (so far) 8.5

LAST EXILE
Premise: Two young adults, Claus and Lavie, have a dream to one day cross the Grand Stream to the other world of Disith, since their fathers both attempted it and failed (which means they died). To do so, however, they had to teach themselves how to fly a vanship like their fathers did, with Lavie as the navigator (or navi) and Claus as the pilot. They become message couriers to practice, and get better and better. Then one day, during a race, they accidently bump into another vanship carrying a little girl - and their adventure starts when they must bring her to Alex Row, the captain of the Silvana (note: this warrior ship has never lost a battle, but it is a battle ship. At the time this show begins, there is a war going on with Disith). Another note: wars in this world are watched over by the Guild, as is pretty much everything else. The Guild is basically a uber-advanced group of people who in a way rule over both worlds...
My Opnion: Good. The animation is smooth, and it's widescreen, which I really like. The plot, while nothing emotionally touching, is still solid. I am a little irritated that they never went into who exactly Alvis is, but I can overlook that. I enjoyed it, enjoyed the various views that everyone had about life, how they all evolved as human beings, and enjoyed the overall plot. If I had to classify it, I'd have to put it as an epic. It's not drama or humor or action, really (though there are some elements of them all). Overall, I'd say it's feel is realistic, not that dramatized for effect. I like it. Enough to recommend it, especially if you're into plot.
My Rating: 7.5

ELFEN LIED
Premise: There are these people called dicloniuses (people become them by apparently catching a disease when they are really young) who have extra "hands" - invisible, which can do a lot more than normal hands and can reach farther than normal hands. One of them, Lucy (or Nyuu) is considered the most dangerous due to her ability to recreate without just spreading the virus. Then she breaks free of the laboratory she's held in, killing off a crapload of people to escape. Yet when she washes up on shore, and suddenly she's no longer the killer who can ruthlessly murder dozens of people. Kota, a college freshman, is staying in a relative's house, and ends up living with his cousin and Lucy, along with others that join them - all while the military is searching for Lucy.
My Opinion: Weird. Just...weird. And wrong, sometimes. (I mean - they're cousins! They don't do anything...but STILL! The emotion is there... O_o) And it's gory. Weird gory, too, with blood that looks like ketchup. *mmm Heims* However, they tried to do some nice stuff, and the ending wasn't bad, I guess. I guess I would recommend it, but only for those who 1) don't mind an attempt at gory, 2) watch pretty much anything, and 3) like emotional endings. I guess.
My Rating: 5.5

AIR
Premise: There is a girl that flies in the sky and dreams. She is dreaming, and it is a sad dream that never ends.
There is a fellow, named Yukito, who is traveling looking for this person, in the hopes that he can alleviate her sadness, like his mother and other ancestors have tried to do before him (and failed).
My Opinion: T__T I cried through the entire last 3 eps. Yup. This anime is definitely centered around character development and emotion. It's plot is rather abstract, which I actually enjoyed, since I don't get to see a lot of that and not end up being depressed. I was actually happy at the end of this one, for once. Even if I was crying. It's music is sweet and rather enjoyable; the opening and ending songs are really nice. And the animation is really nice. I truly enjoyed watching it. Even the color is really vivid and well-done.
My Rating: 10 (booyah baby!)
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Saturday, October 22, 2005

   WHEW!
Man, does college make you busy. But it also gives you possibilities! I have seen a few since I got here, so I will post a few reviews here!

Mai-Hime
Premise: There are 12 Hime who have the ability to summon Children, or big uber-powerful creatures with powers. (They also have their own powers, too). The star (that only the Hime can see) in the sky comes slowly closer, and while I don't want to give too much away, when it finally comes really close, certain things will happen. I can't say too much without giving things away, but our main character Mai must work her way through the troubles of being a Hime and the oldest sister of an unhealthy brother (their parents are dead).
My Opinion: Very good. You end up being very sympathetic to the characters, and by the end I really wondered why Mai or the others didn't all commit suicide... But anyway, I will not say anything else about the plot - let it suffice that it was quite fun and complex.
The dialogue wasn't bad. I wouldn't say it was anything inspiring, but it wasn't anything bad either. I only saw the sub of this one, so I can't speak for the English version, but the Japanese is nicely done.
Music was okay. I didn't find anything great in the songs, but I guess I didn't hate them either. I won't get a copy of the opening, for example, though it isn't a bad song altogether. And the music in-episode did set the mood, at least.
Rating: 8.5

Rozen Maiden
Premise: A boy who is so depressed he no longer even bothers going to school mysteriously gets a wind-up doll that can move as though she is human. Together, they battle other dolls and eventually teach Jun (the fellow) to live again.
My Opinion: Good. I really like this one. While it is geared toward a younger audience, it has substance and was rather satisfying. We did indeed have a main baddie that toyed with the main characters instead of killing them when she could, which is turning into a pet peeve of mine, but is was really the only thing I really didn't like. While they do have some filler episodes (which is interesting for a 12-episode series), I think the purpose of those episodes was to show how much Jun was opening up. So while they may not swear a lot or show blood, I truly liked the plotline and the entire series. Defintely one I would recommend for those who like the ones that combine action with deeper meanings.
Music-wise, the opening is really cool, and the ending isn't bad (I think...I will admit that I often skipped it in order to get to the next episode). The thing they put up to lead in and out of the commercials was odd and broke up the mood (I hate that), but otherwise I didn't find any fault with the music. There were even a few in-episode songs I liked.
Animation was okay. I can't think it was anything special, but it was definitly not badly done - I would have noticed that. The drawing style isn't as detailed as some, but I don't really find that irritating.
Rating: 9

ROD
Premise: The British government is attempting to resurrect a super-smart human they call Gentleman, and they need some books that contain his knowledge. In their way are three (and later another) Paper Masters (they basically can control paper to fight with), an author, and a woman that can phase through walls and people.
My Opinion: Nice. Now, I actually didn't see all of it (the person who watched it with me didn't wish to see the middle). Apparently the middle is a lot of questing/searching/etc. for the books mentioned above, so we skipped it. I have a feeling there was some bonding done, but overall I didn't feel like I had missed too much by not seeing those episodes. Perhaps I would have liked to see one or two of them to see how things were progressing, though. It should be noted that it is beneficial to see the movie, Read or Die, because the background to the series makes more sense, but as I didn't (though my friend was telling me stuff when they mentioned it), I didn't feel like I was missing too much. It does tend to add another dimension to things, however. Dialogue was great, the voice acting very well done (one of the best I've heard).
Music was pretty nice. I have a few of the in-episode songs as well as the opening and endings, and they are nicely done.
Animation was also very well done. Aniplex did this series, so think along the lines of Fullmetal Alchemist in terms of that level of animation. It was all very nicely done.
Rating: 9.5


^__^ That's all I've finished. I'm working my way through a couple others, so bear with me, I'll put my reviews of those soon! Sorry I've taken so long to update. :P

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